Lock assembly with privacy means



March 19, 1968 Filed Oct.

A. C. SANOWSKIS LOCK ASSEMBLY WITH PRIVACY MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 02 m w\ m I. l 4 9 7a //VV,E/VTO/? 74 m a/e'z'z C 25/ 2x25 a/m A TT'OR/VEYS March 19, 1968 c, s ows s 3,374,019

LOCK ASSEMBLY WITH PRIVACY MEANS Filed Oct. 23, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTOR/VEYS' March 19, 1968 A. c. SANOWSKIS 3,374,019

LOCK ASSEMBLY WITH PRIVACY MEANS Filed Oct. 23, 1965 s Sheets-Sheet s v INVENTOR Q-MCT A 41 BY #65:

ro/Mfrs United States Patent 3,374,019 LOCK ASSEMBLY WITH PRIVACY MEANS Albert C. Sanowskis, Chicago, Ill. (16600 Patricia Ave., Tinley Park, Ill. 60477) Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 503,366 8 Claims. (Cl. 292-l70) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A push-pull type lock device mountable in a door and incorporating a hollow housing in which a retractile spring biased latch bolt is slidably movable in a first direction and a straight hollow member is engaged at right angles to said housing and bolt through aligned transverse passages formed therein and is movable in a second direction at right angles to said first direction, the hollow member carrying a cam surface bearing arm adapted to contact a pin carried in the latch bolt to retract the bolt on movement of the hollow member, said hollow member also carrying, disposed entirely therewithin, a solid member having a reduced thickness portion in which a lug is ridable between a condition blocking movementof said hollow member and said latch bolt and a condition freeing the same, thereby to comprise privacy lock means disposed entirely within the intersecting portions of said latch bolt, said housing and said hollow member. The invention also provides a dead-bolt means operable to immobilize the latch bolt independent of the means to immobilize the hollow members movement but releasable by release of said last mentioned means.

This invention relates generally to door locks and the like and more particularly, concerns the provision of a novel passage set assembly characterized by the simplicity of its component parts thereby enabling a marked reduction in the cost of fabrication and installation of such door lock assemblies.

The general type of lock contemplated herein is one intended for use upon doors or the like for closures to which access is effected from one side of the door by a pushing thrust applied to the door knob thereby releasing a latch and enabling the door to be opened by continued pushing force being applied to the door; and, from the other side of the door, egress is obtained by a direct pulling force applied to the door knob on the said other side of the door.

Heretofore, passage sets of this general type incorporate component ports of great multiplicity and/or complexity, often difficult to fabricate and assemble, Such prior sets were not sufficiently versatile to enable installation thereof under different conditions without substitution or re placement of component parts. Often incorporation of additional functions, such as privacy means to prevent operation of the lock assembly from one side of the door, required fabrication of new and dilferent components.

Accordingly, the invention herein provides a push-pull operated lock assembly for doors and the like characterized in the simplicity of its component parts and the ease of their fabrication and assembly.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a push-pull operated lock assembly for doors and the like wherein means are provided selectively to prevent actuation of the lock by a force exerted in any direction.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pushpull type lock assemply for doors and the like wherein a privacy means is provided which is operative to dead-bolt the latch as well as prevent operation of the lock from interior and exterior of the protected closure, said privacy means being releasable.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of 3,374,019 Patented Mar. 19, 1968 a push-pull type lock assembly for doors and the like wherein a privacy means is operative to dead-bolt the latch and prevent operation of the lock from interior or exterior of the protected closure, said privacy means capable of being rendered effective on the interior of the closure of pushing thereagainst and releasable, from the interior of the closure by simply pulling upon the knob, and from the exterior of the closure, by manipulation of a common tool or implement.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a push-pull passage set incorporating privacy means which is capable of installation for use on oppositely pivoting doors and the like by simple reversal of component parts.

Many other objects and advantages of the invention herein will be evident in the course of the forthcoming description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many variations in size and configuration of the various component parts are contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a reduced scale fragmentary top of a door hingedly installed in a door frame and having the passage set assembly in accordance with the invention operatively installed thereon, the phantom representation illustrating the direction in which said door opens.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but illustrating the door as installed to open in a direction opposite to the door shown in FIG. 1, and having the passage set assembly of FIG. 1 installed thereon simply by reversalof component parts thereof.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the passage set of FIG. 1, the privacy means being in open or inelfective condition.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the passage set assembly of FIG. 3 but illustrated with the privacy means being in effective condition.

FIGv 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIG. 3 and in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines 66 of FIG. 5 and in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified embodiment of the invention shown'installed on the door in fully opened condition.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the modified embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 8 but with the door being in fully closed condition.

FIG. 9 is an. end-on view of the modified embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. i Referring now to the drawings, the passage setlassembly according to the invention is'designated generally by reference character 10 and is shown, in FIG. 1, operatively installed on a door 12 hingedly mounted to a door frame 14 for movement in a direction indicated by arrow 16. In FIG. 2, the passage set assembly 10 is illustrated as installed on a door hingedly mounted for movement in a direction, arrow 16' opposite to that indicated by arrow 16 in FIG. 1. Only a simple reversal of component parts rather than substitution of other parts being required for the change in installation conditions.

The passage set assembly 10' includes a hollow housing 18 disposed in a suitable opening 20 formed in door '12. Housing 18 has one end 22 thereof opening to the side 24 of door 12. Another opening 26 is formed in the door 12 and intercepts opening 20. Suitably apertured escutcheon plates 25 are disposed at opposite ends of the Opening 26 to close off the same and ordinarily are decorative in finish for decorative effects. Likewise, suitably apertured retainer plate 27 is provided attached to the side 24 of door 12 surrounding the open end 22 of the housing. A retractile latch bolt 28 is mounted within the housing 18 for linear sliding movement along a first path of movement indicated by arrow 30 and has a latch engaging end 32 movable through the-open end 22 of the housing 18.

Spring biasing means, such as spring 34, is arranged within the housing 18 normally to bias the latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28 outward to a position exterior of the housing 18. The opposite end 36 of latch bolt 28 functions as a seat for spring 34. Pin 35 is provided to block the end 22 of housing 18 to retain spring 34 therein. A lateral passageway 38 is formed in the latch :bolt 28 between the ends 32 and 36 thereof and a pin 40 is disposed across said passageway 38. The housing 18 is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed aligned slots 42 formed between the ends thereof and adapted to coincide with the location of passageway 38 of the bolt 28.

A bolt actuating means 44 is provided for engagement through the slots 42 and is slidable linearly along a second path of movement indicated by arrow 46, normal to first path of movement 30. Said bolt actuating means 44 com prises an elongate hollow member 48 having a pair of opposite ends 50. The member 48 is of a configuration substantially complementary to a portion 52 of slots 42 as to be linearly slidable therethrough. Knobs 54 and 54' are mounted, as for example, by set screw means 56, to said opposite ends 50 and 50 of member 48, and, preferably, have respective surfaces 56 and 56 closely adjacent to said ends 50 and 50'.

An L-shaped arm 58 is secured to said member 48 so that the terminal arm 60 thereof extends in a direction parallel to said member 48 spaced from the outer surface thereof.

The arm portion 61, which is secured at one end to said member 48 and terminates in arm 60, is provided with a cam surface 62 and is slidable linearly through portion 64 of slots 42 in the said second path of movement when the member 48 is urged in its slidable movement as described. The arm 61 is arranged to engage the pin 40 which functions now as a follower for cam 62. As the member 48 is moved linearly in said second path of movement, the pin 40 follows the cam surface 62 and the latch engaging end 32 of latch bolt 28 is withdrawn into the housing 18. Means 65, such as a cotter pin or the like, are provided at the terminus of arm 60 to prevent withdrawal thereof from the slots 42.

It should be noted that the latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28 has a flat surface 66 and a cam surface 68. Flat surface 66 functions as a keeper to prevent movement of the latch bolt past the inner wall 70 of the door latch. Cam surface 68 rides on the strike plate 72 so as to act against the normal bias of spring 34 during closing of the door 12, the latch bolt 28 being subsequently released with r its latch engaging end 32 disposed within the latch when the door 12 is in closed condition.

The invention contemplates the provision of privacy means for preventing movement of the actuator member 48. It is a feature of the privacy means herein provided that the latch bolt 28 is dead-locked when the privacy means is engaged in its effective position. Thus not only is movement of the actuating means 44 prevented, but, also, any forced movement of the latch bolt 28 is also prevented.

The privacy means provided in assembly comprises an elongate solid member 74 of cross-sectional configuration preferably substantially complementary to the inner cross-section configuration of hollow member 48 so that said member 74 is linearly slidable therewithin. Member 74 has a pair of opposite ends 76 and 78 and is disposed engaged within member 48 with end 76 recessed from one end 50 while end 78 extends outward from the opposite open end 50. End 78 is provided with an end cap 80 defining a recess 82 of dimension determined by the thickness of the wall of member 48 so as to receive same therein. Approximately midway between the ends 76 and 78 of member 74, said member 74 has a reduced crosssection portion 84 formed therein to define an annular shoulder 86 and a wedge surface 88. An opening 90 is provided in the wall of member 48 so that an edge thereof is flush with shoulider 86 and when the member 74 is disposed within member 48 and cap is spaced from said opposite open end 50 of said member 48. The opening is located to coincide with the location of the wedge surface 88. A similar opening or passage 91 is formed in bolt 28, aligned with opening 90. A pin 92 of length not greater than the width of the shoulder 86 plus the thickness of the wall of member 48 is disposed through said aligned openings 90 and 91 and is ridable on the wedge surface 88 so that in one condition (FIGS. 3 and 6), it is fully recessed within opening 90 while, when the cap 80 is urged to a position engaged with the end 50 of member 48, the pin 92 extends outward through opening 90 into a passage formed in latch bolt 28 which thus bars movement of latch bolt 28 by hearing against member 48 as well as against the latch bolt 28. Pin 92 may be formed of magnetizable material, with the bolt 28 and actuator 48 of non-magnetic material so that if member 74 is formed of magnetically attracting material such as iron or steel, pin 92 is held fixedly in position, movable only with movement of member 74.

The member 74 is provided also with a second reduced thickness portion 96 relatively closely spaced from capped end 58. A button 98 formed of resilient or compressible material is disposed through an opening 100 formed in member 48 closely adjacent to capped end 50 and of a length so that one end 102 thereof rides in the groove 96' of said portion 96 while the other, opposite end 104 bears against the surface of the adjacent one of knobs 54. Thus, the button 98 functions as friction means also to limit travel of cap 80 to the length of the groove 96 defined by reduced portion 96 while also maintaining cap 80 stationary at its point of rest. A shoulder 108 may be formed in the knob 54 to provide stop means for limiting movement of member 74 into member 48.

Should access be desired when the privacy means is in its engaged or effective position, a small object, say rod 110, which may be a nail, a toothpick, the tine of a fork or the like commonly available implement, is inserted through passage 112 formed in one knob 54' and coaxial with open end 50 of member 48 and urged against end 76 of member 74, thereby causing button 92 to be dropped from its blocking position extending outward from member 48. Now the knobs 54 are free to be pushed from the exterior of the closure to effect withdrawal of the latch bolt 28 from the latch.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the member 48 is provided with an annular groove 114 closely adjacent opening 100. The pin 116 of the set screw 56 is arranged to ride in said groove 114 in the said second direction of movement 46. Preferably said pin is provided with a resilient end so that there is a frictional reluctance for undesired movement whereby rattling or looseness of the knob is avoided. Here, when the cap 80 is urged inward, similar thrust is applied to the knob 54 adjacent thereto due to the force being transferred to the recessed shoulder 108 of said knob. The pin 116 thus is carried laterally along annular groove 114. The length of said groove 114 is chosen equal to the length of the reduced diameter portion 84 of member 74. Therefore the knob 54 and cap 80 move together to cause the pin 92 to assume its effective condition and thereby dead bolt the latch (FIG. 4). Now, more normal pulling force exercised on said knob 54 carries with it cap 80, hence releases the member 92 from its blocking position in FIG. 4 to its release or ineffective position shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.

The recess 108 may be deeper, rendering the actuation of the cap 80 clearly independent of knob 54 if desired.

The passage set assembly 10 requires the privacy means provided therein to be placed in effective condition subsequent to the closing of the door 12. This is necessary because activation of the privacy means serves not only to prevent movement of the actuating member but, also, dead-bolts the latch bolt so as to prevent all movement 3 thereof until release of the privacy means from said eifeo tive condition. Often, it is desirable to place the latch in deadlocked condition with closing of the door but with the privacy means of the passage set in effective condition. For this purpose, passage set 16 is modified as illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 to accommodate installation of a so-called snap lock latch arrangement in lieu of originally described latch bolt 28.

In FIG. 7, the so-modified passage set It) is illustrated installed upon a door 12, and is shown in the condition assumed thereby when the door 12 is fully open. In FIG. 8, the same passage set is illustrated in the condition assumed thereby when the door is fully closed. Where components are common to passage sets 10 and 10, they are designated by like reference characters.

Referring to FIG. 7, the actuating components of the passage set 10 are retained for use in passage set 18' with certain modifications now to be described. Actuator arm portion 60 is provided with a recess 120 between its terminal end and portion 61 thereof. The location of said recess 120 is chosen for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

In order for the snap lock arrangement to operate, the movement of the latch bolt must be rendered independent of the privacy means of the invention so that the privacy means in this instance operates only to immobilize the actuator means, member 48, when placed in effective condition. For this purpose, passageway 90 in the member 48 is enlarged to form transverse slot 122, while the opening 91 in the latch bolt 28 likewise is enlarged to form a slot 124. Now, the pin 92, which is urged into slots 90 and 91 by wedge surface 84 when the capped member 80 is'urged against knob 54, merely blocks movement of the actuator member 48 and rides in slot 124 whereby to permit retractilemovement of the latch bolt 28 although the privacy means is disposed in effective condition.

The latch bolt 28 has been modified also by formation of a longitudinal groove 126 therein, said groove 126 toward the latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28. Groove 126 is closed off at one end thereof by portion 128 having an aperture 130 therein. A portion 132 of the latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28 bounds the groove 126 at its other end to define a shoulder 134. Portion 132 carries surface 66 of the latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28.

A pin 136 is disposed for rectilinear retractile movement in the chamber 138 defined between the inner wall of housing 18 and groove 126 when the bolt 28 is disposed within said housing 18. Pin 136 has an annular flange 140 at one end 135 thereof, the opposite end 137 being rounded and normally extending from housing 18. Flange 140 cooperates with shoulder 134 to limit movement of the pin 136 exterior of the housing 18 through opening 22 thereof. Flange 140 also serves as seating means for one end of spring 142 arranged between the pin 136 and portion 128.

A stepped pin 146 is secured to pin 136 by means of a wire coil 148 having springlike properties. The wire 148 is attached to the inner end of pin 136 by means of welding, soldering, tying on, etc. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a recess 150 is formed in the inner end of pin 136 to accommodate one end of the wire 148 therein with the other end being secured to the free end 151 of narrow diameter portion 152 of stepped pin 146 so that the said stepped pin 146 is movable freely through aperture 138 when the pin 136 is retracted, against the bias of spring 142, interior of chamber 138. Pin 146 has a shoulder 154 defined at the juncture of narrow diameter portion 152 and wider portion 156 thereof. Wider portion 156 terminates at its free end in a rounded end 158. Rounded end 158 is adapted to seat in recess 128 formed in portion 60 of arm 58 when the pin 136 is in fully retracted condition.

The location of recess 120 is chosen to be offset from aperture 130 so that rounded end 158 seats therein when the pin 136 is fully retracted the latch engaging end 32 6 of bolt 28 is disposed in latch 70 and the pin 146 is canted relative aperture 138 shown in FIG. 8. When the pin 146 is thus arranged, the shoulder 154 thereof is brought to bear against portion 128 of the latch bolt 28 thereby preventing retraction of the latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28 from latch 70.

In closing the door 12, that is proceeding from the open condition of the door illustrated in FIG. 7 to the closed condition of the door illustrated in FIG. 8, and assuming the privacy means of the invention first is activated by pressing cap 80, the door 12 is pivoted toward the frame carrying latch 70. The cam surface 68 of latch engaging end 32 of bolt 28 engages striker plate 72 and the latch bolt 28 is retracted into the housing 18. The pin 136 likewise is caused to retract into the housing until the end 137 thereof is substantially flush with the open end 22 of housing 18. Retraction of pin 136 compresses spring 142. When surface 66 clears the edge of latch 70 the latch bolt 28 is released whereby latch engaging end 32 thereof is seated within the latch 78, said end 32 being fully extended exterior of housing 18. As latch bolt 28 proceeds outwardly from the housing, portion 156 of pin 146 rides through aperture 138 until the said portion 156 clears the inner end of the latch bolt, and, since it has seated in recess 128, is canted so that shoulder 154 prevents any retractile movement of latch bolt 28. with such disposition, wire 148 is stretched to a slight degree suificient to retract same should member 146 and aperture 130 be aligned.

Now, when the member 92 is released from its blocking disposition by release of the privacy means from either the interior or exterior of the door, the actuator arm 58 is moved by movement of member 48 to bring the pin 146 in alignment with aperture 138, 154- is dislodged from the latch bolt 28. Now the bolt 28 is free to move in its aforedescribed path of movement caused by impingement of pin 48 of the latch bolt 28 upon cam surface 62 of arm 58.

It should be understood that the passage sets 10 and 18' are adapted equally to be controlled from the exterior of the protected closure by a key operated mechanism or the simple exercise of a pushing action on the exterior knob. A key operated mechanism (not shown) may be used to operate a slot and key connection (also not shown) to release the privacy means much in the manner in which use of implement 110 may be utilized if desired.

Attention should also be directed, with reference to the installations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that, to install the passage set in a door (see FIG. 2) that pivots in an opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 1, one need only remove stop means 65, detach knobs 54, withdraw the member 48 from slot 42, reverse the position of latch bolt 28 so that surface 66 faces in the direction of pivot of the door, reinsert the member 48 and attendant elements from a direction opposite to their previous direction through slot 42, reinsert stop means 65 and the installation of the passage set as shown in FIG. 2 is effected. Note that no new or even modified elements are necessary. All that is required is a simple reversal in the disposition of the components. 7

Although not shown in the drawings, the reduced crosssection portion 84 may be eliminated and a. pin secured in lieu thereof, the slots and 91 being slightly modified to permit rotation of the member 74 carrying the said pin in the slot between a position blocking actuator member 48 and latch bolt 22 to a position clearing said member 48 and bolt 22. Thus, merely rotation of cap 80 will set or release the privacy means. Suitable screw means may be placed in end 76 to permit release of the privacy means from the end 58 of the actuator 48.

It is believed that the invention has been sufficiently described in the foregoing specification so that the same may be understood and practiced by the skilled artisan. The substantial versatility of the structure of the invention should be quite apparent. It is contemplated that minor variations in the relative size, configuration and arrangement of the component element will occur to the skilled artisan without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A push-pull lock device for a door comprising:

(i) a hollow latch bolt housing open at one end thereof;

(ii) a retractile latch bolt slidably mounted in said housing and having a first end movable linearly into and out of said housing through said open end along a first path of movement;

(iii) spring biasing means in said housing normally urging said first end of the bolt to a position exterior of said housing;

(iv) said bolt and said housing each having through transverse passage means formed therein and aligned one with the other;

(v) bolt actuating means linearly movable through said passage means along a second path of movement transverse to said first path of movement intersecting same;

(vi) said bolt actuating means comprising a straight elongate hollow element having a pair of opposite ends, said opposite ends extending outward of the door on opposite sides thereof,

(vii) knob means mounted on said opposite ends,

(viii) an arm member carried by said hollow element extending outward of said hollow element and having a cam surface portion, said arm member disposed between said opposite ends whereby said cam surface portion is movable linearly interior of said passage means with movement of said hollow element in said second path of movement and an immobile pin secured to said latch bolt interior of the passage means formed therein intersecting same and located in the path of movement of said cam surface for engagement therewith upon movement of said hollow element in the second path of movement effectively to drive the latch bolt against its normal bias in the first path of movement withdrawing said first end thereof within the housing through said one open end, and

(ix) a second elongate element of cross-sectional configuration conforming to the inner cross-sectional configuration of said hollow element, said second ele ment being disposed entirely Within said hollow element frictionally engaged therein for movement therewith and adapted for selected movement independent thereof, said second element having a gradually reduced dimension section between the ends thereof and a lug selectively ridable along said reduced dimension section between a first condition blocking movement of said hollow element in said a second path of movement and a retracted second condition freeing said hollow element, said reduced dimension section and said lug being disposed entirely within said latch bolt housing said lug being arranged to block movement of said latch bolt in said first path when in the condition blocking movement of said hollow element in said second path and said knobs means including a knob mounted on one end of the hollow element for limited slidable movement therealong, means operatively coupling said knob and said second elongate element, said knob eing mounted for slidable movement on said hollow element to a first position effecting retraction of the lug from the first to the second condition and thereafter being further movable in the same path carr ing the hollow element therewith to effect retraction of the latch bolt.

2. A push-pull lock device for a door comprising:

(i) a hollow latch bolt housing open at one end thereof;

(ii) a retractile latch bolt slidably mounted in said 8 housing and having a first end movable linearly into and out of said housing through said open end along a first path of movement;

(iii) spring biasing means in said housing normally urging said first end of the bolt to a position exterior of said housing;

(iv) said bolt and said housing each having through transverse passage means formed therein and aligned one with the other;

(v) bolt actuating means linearly movable through said passage means along a second path of movement transverse to said first path of movement intersecting same;

(vi) said bolt actuating means comprising a straight elongate hollow element having a pair of opposite ends, said opposite ends extending outward of the door on opposite sides thereof;

(vii) knob means mounted on said opposite ends;

(viii) an arm member carried by said hollow element extending outward of said element and having a cam surface portion, said arm member disposed between said opposite ends whereby said cam surface portion is movable linearly interior of said passage means with movement of said hollow element in said second path of movement and an immobile pin secured to said latch bolt interior of the passage means formed therein intersecting same and located in the path of movement of said cam surface for engagement therewith upon movement of hollow element in the second path of movement effectively to drive the latch bolt against its normal bias in the first path of movement xithdrawing said first end thereof within the housing through said one open end;

(ix) an elongate solid member of cross-sectional configuration conforming to the inner cross-sectional configuration of said hollow element, said solid member being disposed entirely within said hollow element frictionally engaged therein for movement therewith and adapted for selected movement independent thereof, said solid member having a gradually reduced thickness portion between the ends thereof and a lug selectively ridable along said reduced thickness portion between a first condition blocking movement of said hollow element in said second path of movement and a retracted second condition freeing said hollow element, said reduced thickness portion and said lug being disposed entirely within said latch bolt housing, said latch bolt having a longitudinal slot formed therein and spring biased, retractile pin means disposed in said slot normally extending from the latch bolt housing, said retractile pin means having detent means operable on retraction thereof to block movement of said latch bolt and means on said actuator means for releasing the detent means with movement thereof in said second path, said last mentioned means comprising a recess located in said arm member opening in the direction of said retractile pin means but offset from the said longitudinal slot.

3. A push-pull passage set assembly with privacy latch means adapted to be mounted in a door which in turn is mounted for unidirectional opening movement, a hollow housing open at one end thereof, a spring biased retractile latch bolt slidably mounted in said housing and having a first end movable linearly into and out of said housing along a first path of movement, said end normally being urged exterior of said housing, a hollow elongate bolt actuator extending outward on both sides of the door and mounted for linear movement along a second path transverse to said first path coincident with the opening direction of the door, cooperating means on the actuator and latch bolt for effecting linear retractive movement of the latch bolt end on sliding movement of the actuator in the opening direction of the door, means operatively associated with said actuator at opposite ends thereof comprising a first member operable on that end of said actuator disposed exterior of the door and adapted to receive force thereupon for movement of the actuator in said second path in the opening direction of the door and a second member mounted for limited slidable movement upon the other, opposite and interior end of the actuator and adapted to receive force thereupon for movement of the actuator in the said second path in the opening direction of the door, and privacy means associated with said actuator and latch bolt selectively operable to preclude movement of the actuator, said privacy means comprising a privacy latch element movable between a first position blocking said movement of the actuator and a second position noninterferent with said movement of the actuator, an elongate member disposed within the actuator and slidably movable relative thereto to effect movement of said privacy latch element between the first and second positions thereof, means operatively coupling said second member to said elongate member, said second member being slidably moveable in the said second path relative to said actuator in the door opening direction to effect move ment of said coupling means for releasing said privacy latch element from the first position thereof, it disposed thereat, and said second member being further slidably movable in said second path to retract the latch bolt end.

4. The assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said elongate member extends through the actuator but is recessed from the exterior disposed end thereof, said member capable of operation by insertion of a foreign instrument through said exterior end.

5. The assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said coupling means includes cap means operatively coupled between said second member and said elongate element and operable both with movement of said second member and independent thereof to effect positioning of the latch element.

6. The assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein the elongate member has a median portion of reduced diameter to define a cam-like surface and the primary latch element is a pin ridable on said cam-like surface, aligned aperture means formed in the latch bolt and in the actuator between the ends thereof, the location of the said cam-like surface being selected to permit the pin to ride the cam surface in and out of the aligned aperture means thereby assuming the first and second positions respectively.

7. The assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cooperating means on the actuator and latch bolt including a cam arm on one of the actuator and latch bolt, a pin on the other of said actuator and latch bolt, said pin being engaged with said cam arm such that relative movement of the actuator effects retraction of said latch bolt end.

8. The assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said retractible latch bolt is provided with a transverse through passage with said actuator being disposed in said transverse passage for relative movement, said privacy latch element being disposed entirely within said actuator, an aperture formed in said latch bolt and said privacy latch element being received in said aperture in the said first position thereof, whereby relative movement of the actuator and the latch bolt is precluded.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 543,679 7/1895 Dennis 292-470 X 1,111,235 9/ 1914 Redin 292-170 2,576,648 11/ 1951 Smith 292-169 2,911,815 11/1959 Crepinsek 292-470 X 3,261,630 7/1966 Chew 292-469 FOREIGN PATENTS 205,894 1/ 1957 Australia.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. 

